Assignment
On the evening of May 29, 2022, "Discount Airlines" Flight 330 prepared to depart from Seattle Tacoma International Airport (KSEA), headed to Vancouver International Airport, British Columbia. Despite usually being a "short haul" route, on this occasion, Flight 330 was operated using a Boeing 737-700, first delivered on January 3, 2001. Among the passengers on board were two passengers Elon and Richard. Elon and Richard were headed to a conference in Vancouver titled "Rich Guys Who Like To Go To Space." They usually took private aircraft for their travels, but Elon's brand-new Gulfstream VI and Richard's super-cool 1952 DHC-2 amphib Beaver were both down for repairs, so they booked a flight with Discount Airlines. In Seattle, Jeff was also headed to the conference, and he was not pleased when he was told earlier in the day that Elon and Richard were going too. He hatched a plan to delay their flight. He downloaded www.adsbexchange.com onto his laptop and purchased a powerful laser. Amazingly, the laser was delivered to his door the same day. He headed down to KSEA and set up a short distance from the departure end of the runway (aircraft were departing to the South). As soon as Flight 330 took off, Jeff was tracking it on the website. When the aircraft was nearing him, he turned on his laser and aimed it at the plane. Inside the cockpit, the pilots were temporarily blinded by the laser light. They declared an emergency to Departure (ATC). Unfortunately, a Cessna 140 was heading to Auburn Municipal Airport (S50) from Tacoma Narrows Airport (KTIW) and had crossed into Class Bravo airspace without clearance. Both the TCAS and Departure immediately instructed Flight 330 to make an emergency climb with full power. Unfortunately, when the pilots applied full power, engine #2 suffered an uncontained failure. In November 2019, the NTSB issued a recommendation that Boeing redesigns and retrofit engine nacelles on 737 aircraft like the one in the accident due to a similar failure that occurred on Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 on April 17, 2018. The FAA did not issue an Airworthiness Directive following the NTSB's recommendation. Elon was seriously injured by pieces of fuselage that were shredded when the engine failed. The hospital bill was $2,000,000. Richard was unharmed but suffers from nightmares after the accident, and his treatment has cost $100,000. His super light, one-kilogram briefcase, which cost him $75,000 was also destroyed. The pilots successfully landed the aircraft back at KSEA. You are the risk manager for Discount Airlines. The CEO, Jimmy Anderson, has asked you to provide a briefing on the accident, focusing on these key areas.
A. Could Jeff be subject to any penalties? What are those?
B. Might the FAA be liable at all for the accident? Jimmy has asked you to consider the FAA's implementation of ADSB, the instructions from ATC, and the failure to follow the NTSB's recommendation. Does the FAA have any defenses?
C. Could the NTSB have enforced its recommendation?
D. Could the pilot of the Cessna be liable? For questions 5 through 6, assume that the current rate for one Special Drawing Right (SDR) is $1. For the purpose of the question, assume that Elon and Richard's treatment costs have been deemed reasonable and necessary and that the cost of the briefcase is not contested.
E. Could Discount Airlines be liable for the medical costs associated with Elon's injuries? If so, could they be liable for the whole $2,000,000?
F. Could Discount Airlines be liable for the treatment costs associated with Richard's nightmares? If so, in what amount?
G. For the purpose of this question, assume that Boeing is the manufacturer of everything on the aircraft - including the engines. Could Boeing be liable? If so, would a plaintiff have to show negligence, or does another standard apply?
H. Assume now, that Elon and Richard had taken Richard's privately operated, DeHavilland-manufactured Beaver instead of a commercial flight. Could DeHavilland be liable? Why or why not?